00                   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 10                                                                   
01 Proclaiming 2018 to be the Alaska Year of Innovation.                                                                   
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS growing Alaska's economy is imperative to improving the lives of                                        
04 Alaskans; and                                                                                                           
05       WHEREAS ingenuity and innovation support a dynamic economy and can help                                         
06 diversify Alaska's economic base; and                                                                                   
07       WHEREAS innovation is a new product or process that creates value and drives                                    
08 growth; while innovation is not limited to technology, innovative technology has transformed                            
09 industries like health care, transportation, and education; and                                                         
10       WHEREAS entrepreneurship is key to commercializing innovations, researchers have                                
11 found a link between technological innovation and economic development, and cutting-edge                                
12 technology lies at the heart of economic leadership; and                                                                
13       WHEREAS entrepreneurs entering the state's market spurs economic growth, and                                    
14 diversifying Alaska's economy through innovation can help address Alaska's fiscal                                       
15 challenges; and                                                                                                         
16       WHEREAS Alaskans are innovators by necessity, with pioneers, builders, scientists,                              
01 fishermen, soldiers, loggers, engineers, teachers, miners, law enforcement personnel, oil field                         
02 workers, and artists responding to the state's harsh climate and remoteness with forward-                               
03 thinking solutions; and                                                                                                 
04 WHEREAS the National Bureau of Economic Research reports that nearly all new                                          
05 job creation annually comes from startups; without new businesses, job creation in the United                           
06 States would have been negative over the last 30 years, with firms in their first year                                  
07 responsible for creating an average of 3,000,000 jobs a year; and                                                       
08       WHEREAS data-driven innovation is a key pillar of 21st century growth, through                                  
09 significantly enhanced productivity, economic competitiveness, and social well-being; and                               
10 WHEREAS innovation must be culturally and publicly encouraged, and Alaska                                             
11 should pursue policies that foster creativity and new ideas that create an environment where                            
12 entrepreneurs can thrive and thereby improve and strengthen the economy of the state; and                               
13 WHEREAS the Juneau Economic Development Council hosts an annual innovation                                            
14 summit that brings together innovators in the state who move Alaska forward by maintaining,                             
15 expanding, and creating jobs and economic opportunities; in addition, the innovation summit                             
16 provides a platform for inductees to the Alaska Innovators Hall of Fame to share exemplary                              
17 efforts to grow a culture of innovation in the state; and                                                               
18 WHEREAS 20 percent of innovations come from collaborations between multiple                                           
19 institutions, half of which are public-private partnerships between private companies and                               
20 universities or government research labs;                                                                               
21 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims 2018 as the Alaska                                         
22 Year of Innovation.